Although Motorino's Matthieu Palombino has a fine-dining background, he found success with a casual pizzeria.
After apprenticing at a gourmet restaurant in Belgium at the age of 14, chef Matthieu Palombino eventually wound up in New York to work with his mentor, Laurent Tourondel, at Cello and then later at BLT Fish as chef de cuisine. But when he decided to open his own restaurant, Palombino turned his back on his lofty training and opened a pizza place in Williamsburg called Motorino. It's been so successful, a second outpost is in the works for the East Village.
"I always thought I would be in a fine restaurant," he sighs. "It was my profession; what I knew. But gastronomy in New York was going toward something that didn’t excite me any more – molecular cuisine and things that were too trendy. I saw a couple of guys doing simple spots like a barbecue place in Williamsburg, or Mario Batali’s Otto – things without pretension. So I threw my knife over. I am still always seeking perfection, whether it is a game bird or pizza. I let the season drive the pizza toppings and my training helps, because I am very critical and always trying to improve. I still use the best ingredients, but I can serve a 16-inch pizza with the best flour, cheese and olive oil for $12–$14."
As the economic climate shifts, many chefs who once planned to work in upmarket restaurants have made similar decisions, opting for concepts with more basic cuisine and gently priced menus.
"There is a dying customer for a Ducasse-style restaurant," maintains Daniel Angerer, who worked with Joël Robuchon, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and David Bouley before opening the midpriced Klee Brasserie in Chelsea. "It’s a different game now. I want people to be able to come in three or four times a week. This is a more contemporary version of fine dining – stylish but not trendy. I didn’t want to create anything intimidating." So there are brick walls, an open kitchen, a wood-burning oven and no tablecloths. "It’s not stiff, and the food is approachable," he says. "When you walk down the street, you see the glow from the fire and it is inviting."
These scaled-down chefs are translating their top-notch training into dishes that are less fussy and more accessible. "I don’t have truffles shaved on a plate of pasta, but I do have truffle mac 'n' cheese," explains Angerer. "I used to make a lobster roll for $26; now I make a tapas-sized version priced at $6." His best-selling dish is a tarte flambée, an Alsatian version of pizza.
And not all chefs view a simplified concept as a compromise. "I don’t want a restaurant with 20 cooks in the kitchen," says Nicolas Cantrell, who worked for Alain Ducasse for seven years at the Louis XV in Monte Carlo's Hôtel de Paris and is now helming Bagatelle, which is constantly packed with a party crowd. "We are so busy, and I have all the freedom I want with the menu. The food is still excellent but more simple: I give the same respect to a carrot as to caviar."
"We were riding so high for so many years,’’ says Scott Bryan, who earned strong notices as a chef at Veritas, and now runs the kitchen at Apiary, a casual but well-received neighborhood spot on Third Avenue and 12th Street. "I do leg of lamb instead of rack of lamb, but my technique is the same. It’s about the neighborhood joint where the chef is actually in the kitchen. It’s a different game now."
– Beth Landman